Artist Development Programme

About the Programme

Launched in April 2011, the Artist Development Programme (ADP) is a signature programme that aims to uncover artistic talents in students and develop their potential. Under ADP, professional artists are engaged to work with talented students to nurture their talents.

Students whose works are sold get a royalty payment from Pathlight School. This helps both students and their families to recognise the value of how their talent if properly honed and supported by good work habits, will give them a chance to have a dignified source of income. Visit The Art Faculty to view our students' products.

Artists in ADP are also given opportunities to be involved in public exhibitions where they learn to promote their art to the general public. To date, 38 students, each with their own special style and art forms, have been identified and put into this programme.

Asher Ng

Kaylan Lim Jolie

Jonathan Cai

Joshua Lim

Jimenez Marzel Grace Eguia

Rachel Fong

Significant Achievements

Date

Event

11 December 2017

In hopes of making public transport more user-friendly, illustrations by six of our student and alumni artists from the Artist Development Programme (ADP) were selected and incorporated as wayfinding signage along the walkway from Redhill MRT station to the Enabling Village. The new signs and rest areas along the walkway were unveiled by Minister for Transport Mr Khaw Boon Wan on the morning of Monday, 11 December 2017.

9 November 2017

Timberland and Pathlight School collaborated for a second time to showcase the unique and insightful art created by talented individuals with special needs. This collaboration consists of pouches and drawstring bags, incorporating Timberland’s Classic Boat Shoe aesthetics with the students’ designs. The products are co-produced by Timberland and The Art Faculty, a retail platform by Pathlight to promote the works of artists with autism. The students involved are Grace Ong and Joshua Chong.

20 October 2017

To celebrate the completion of the DowntownLine, some Pathlight students attended the Downtown Line 3 Opening Ceremony yesterday. Our ADP artist, Jolie Lim, did a commissioned artwork which was printed on notebooks as gifts for the guests.

9 October 2017

SingPost opened its General Post Office (GPO) at the new SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar, and we are so proud that a Pathlighter’s artwork is prominently displayed on the entrance wall. The illustration of the old Fullerton Building, where the original GPO was located, is by Glenn Phua, a student artist under the Artist Development Programme. A framed version of the illustration was also presented to Minister for Communications & Information, Yaacob Ibrahim, the Guest-of-Honour for the GPO’s grand opening.

Two limited edition ez-link card series, featuring artwork by four ADP artists, was launched. The "Dino Series" features distinctive dinosaur motifs by See Toh Sheng Jie, while the nostalgic "Singapore Shophouses Collection" is by Glenn Phua, Jonathan Cai and Muhammad Khairul Bin Asmi. The cards were available for advanced purchase at "Art for Autism: All Things Singapore". Part of the proceeds from the sales of these cards will go towards the ADP to fund programmes that support the development of students' artistic talents.

20 July - 30 Aug 2017

In celebration of National Day, Pathlight School staged public art exhibition, "Art for Autism: All Things Singapore", at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. It featured 33 new works of everything uniquely Singapore by student and alumni artists from ADP. The exhibition is a platform for everyone to experience the beauty and complexity of our island home through the keen eyes of differently-abled artists. Through this exhibition, we hope to affirm the importance of inclusiveness and highlight the boundless possibilities for every son and daughter of Singapore, include those with autism, to contribute in a meaningful way.

11 June 2015

Students had the opportunity to pick up ceramic art skills from Master Chef Leong Chee Yeng at a workshop recently. Several of their works were subsequently selected to be displayed at Master Chef Leong's exhibition titled 'Ceramics Indulgence' at The Fullerton Hotel.

Works of student artists were displayed at the URA Singapore City Gallery in the month of April and May as part of the exhibition, From The City Walls And Beyond. It was a showcase of the students’ exploration of the city’s terrain with their unique perspectives.

29 January – 2 March 2015

Pathlight School held its inaugural public art exhibition featuring 58 works of its student artists from its award-winning Artist Development Programme at The Fullerton Hotel. The exhibition was officially opened by Ms Ho Ching, Advisor of Autism Resource Centre and Executive Director & CEO of Temasek Holdings on 29 January 2015, Thursday. The exhibition was a platform to showcase the diverse talents and unique perspectives of individuals with autism.

21 July 2014

ADP students had the unique opportunity to draw alongside renowned savant - UK architectural artist Stephen Wiltshire when he visited the school. Modelling values in action, Mr Wiltshire, known for his ability to draw cityscapes from memory, inspired Pathlighters with his personal journey of pursuing his talent.

30 November 2013

Pathlight School participated in The Purple Parade 2013, the largest special needs movement in Singapore that supports the inclusion and celebrates the abilities of persons with special needs.

ADP students demonstrated their talents to the crowd, bringing the celebration of abilities to another level.

February 2013

ADP students were invited by LASALLE College of the Arts to participate in its annual i-AM Festival, an arts festival promoting a myriad of social causes. As part of this arts festival, LASALLE students worked jointly with selected ADP students to create a moveable mural which was exhibited in 'ARTISM', one of the two visual arts exhibitions under the main i-AM Festival.

November 2012

ADP was awarded the Special Education Innovation Award by the Ministry of Education in recognition of innovation in enhancing students' learning.

24 - 29 May 2011

Four of our ADP students' artworks were showcased at the Singapore Arts Festival's Kids Arts Village at Esplanade Park. The artworks were open to the public.

In commemoration of 2011 World Autism Awareness Day, the Artist Development Programme was launched at our 'Art for Autism' exhibition featuring our first panel of eight student artists. The event was officiated by Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, and attended by more than 100 guests and industry practitioners.

Glenn Phua

Glenn enjoys illustrating architecture and scenery in line-art. His keen attention to detail alludes to that of Mr Stephen Wiltshire, the renowned British artist with autism. Glenn has produced a vast collection, in the form of art prints and products, of unique perspectives of famous skylines, as well as heritage landmarks. Nothing escapes his high-stamina line-art renderings.

Aaron James Yap

Aaron's art, often teeming with adorable cartoon animals, is whimsical and highly imaginative. His approach betrays his desire for an idyllic world where everyone is warm and friendly. Aaron is utterly sweet and joyful in person, very much evident in the extensive colors used in his art.

Tan Syang

Tan Syang’s forte is in his depiction of nature. He is meticulous and generous with his detailing, lush textures and colors. He enjoys re-creating nature with acrylic on paper, canvas and wood.

Sean Bay

Sean enjoys creating portraits and caricatures of famous personalities. His strong style of generous etching and bold colors makes each portrayal very instinctive and honest. Sean is also passionate about public transportation. A hilarious guy himself, Sean sometimes uses humor in his art – he loves making people laugh.

Tay Jun-Yi

Jun-Yi loves to draw a myriad of animals in vicarious situations. He engineers subtle nuances of social interactions among the animals he draws, which he himself rarely takes the initiative to partake in. With just a black marker pen, he draws each animal without any hesitation and each carries a different expression.

Jun-Yi is a cheerful person who brings much joy to everyone around him, and such is the effect of his art, too! He is also part of The Animal Project’s artist collective.

Grace Ong

Grace has a “sweet tooth” as an artist. Her confectionery of cakes, ice cream and sweets are deliciously created in colored pencils and ink. Grace also enjoys using repetition as her visual language.

Muhd Khairul Bin Asmi

Khairul creates mesmerizing perspectives of bridges and architectural forms. He employs precise line work and play up on the contrast of light and shadow, which he keenly observes. All these achieved with his humble pencil.

Selena Seow

Selena enjoys illustrating whimsical subjects like birds and botanicals. Her keen attention to detail enables her to create many wonderful artwork in ink and colored pencils.

Selena’s “Birds of a feather #1” has also inspired renowned artist, Ernest Zacharevic, to create a beautiful 3-storey tall mural at the Enabling Village.

Gavin James Rodringuez

Gavin creates grand compositions of pirate ships and warships. He renders his ships with uncanny sea-worthy realism and detailing. In fact, you can sense the movement of his ships, navigating in a relentless ocean – a voyage made in pencil, ink or acrylic.

Joshua Chong

Joshua sees beyond the fierce façade of a supposed monster. He loves Godzilla fervently and it is evident in his detailed rendering of the complicated creature. Joshua clearly lives by the mantra of “seek first to understand”: “Godzilla is an earth defender, his duty is to keep us safe and protected. As long as we have faith and trust in him, he will continue to protect us”

Sarah Wong

Sarah has a free-spirited way with patterns. She enjoys harmonizing diverse elements in clever and intricate compositions. Her medium of choice – colored pencils and ink.

Ng Li Jie

Li Jie is highly motivated to master every painting technique he can glean from books and courses. He enjoys creating highly realistic scenery using water color, acrylic & oil paints. He dabbles in abstract expressions, too.

Jovan Neo

Jovan loves telling you stories through his drawings. His narrative art is so full of intrigue and surprises, you will be sure to discover new elements every time you look at them.

Ezra Chan

Ezra is a cheerful boy with a ready smile. He doodles all the time and is able to draw what he sees in such accurate scale. His doodling interests range from pigeons to seaweeds to daily scenes. He brings joy to all who know him.

Elliot Chia

This innovative artist never fails to add a twist or an element of quirkiness to his work. He enjoys seeing your surprised reactions, while appearing to be nonchalant about his ingenuity. Like him, his robots are stoic, but with quiet complexity. Elliot thinks out of the box. A very big box.

See Toh Sheng Jie

Sheng Jie is extremely pedantic about dinosaurs – the spelling of their full paleontological names, their detailed expressions captured in the miniature replicas he creates – everything must be done just right. No reference books are used. All his illustrations and figurines are produced from his personal knowledge!

Megan Lee

Megan’s narrow focus and keen eye for details are evident in her art. Her interest lies in the depiction of nature with delicate details and a bright contrasting palette. Megan also enjoys conveying abstract concepts using very tangible visuals.

Hairil Hady Bin Shohri Omar

Hairil enjoys creating highly graphical characters. From tiny, cute cartoons, to large magical creatures, he can be heard vocalizing character-voices and sound effects as he creates them – a “4D” experience if you sit and watch him draw!

Hairil is also part of The Animal Project’s artist collective.

Tia Anasha

Tia’s canvas is always teeming with bright, happy illustrations of animals. She has a very innocent perspective of the animals she renders, which offers a rather pure and idyllic collection of work.

Joshua Lee

Joshua’s clay creations are highly detailed and animated. It helps that he articulates the sound effects of the creatures while he molds them with his bare hands. Joshua enjoys role-playing with his finished pieces too – makes him a happy artist.

Simeon Tan

Simeon is the “Edward Scissorshands” of clay and metal media. His slim nifty fingers work with impressive strength and speed, forming and shaping his imagination into terrific creatures.

Keegan Teo

Keegan loves elephants! ‘Nuff said.

He paints his elephants in their most natural state. He also illustrates them adorned in ceremonial dressing or equipped with battle gear. Keegan is also part of The Animal Project’s artist collective.

Ng Zhi Xian

Zhi Xian has an uncanny fascination with clothes pegs. When he draws, he seems to be doing a “Da Vinci” study of his pegs. The engineering of the spring action, the material form, the mechanism of the grip – we are all bewildered and still discovering his unique creations.

Foo Thong Keen

Thong Keen has keen eyes for observational drawing. Pun intended. He enjoys translating a subject accurately on paper. Sometimes, an observation impresses upon him so much, he can draw them from memory in verbatim details.

Thong Keen also specialises in illustrating expressive and colourful dinosaurs. He is also part of The Animal Project’s artist collective.

Carrichel Lim

Carrichel loves to draw bears and bunnies. No guessing why she loves to hop and skip as well. Carrichel favours bold facial expressions for the characters she illustrates.

Marvin Tan

Marvin approaches his perspective drawings meticulously, and he likens it to solving a complex mathematical problem.

Amelia Tan

Amelia is passionate about Manga and it naturally shows in her art. From the stylized characters to the dramatic framing, Amelia clearly loves the über-cool Japanese sub-culture.

Chester Sim

Chester engineers robotic and hybrid figurines by combining re-used objects like mechanical parts, cutlery, bolts and nuts. He has now taken to illustrating them, in detail, alluding to the Victorian Steampunk genre. Chester’s renderings are as cool as the dude himself.

Nurul Amirah Binte Zain

Amirah has a keen eye for patterns found in nature. She also expresses herself bold lines and vibrant colours. Combine those two qualities together, and you get a marvelous collection of motifs.

Amirah might appear very serious while working on her art, but like many other girls, she is also interested in anime and Hello Kitty. Amirah is an alumnus of Pathlight School, and an Interactive Design graduate from ITE College Central.

Asher Ng

Asher illustrates and paints with his unique perspective for details that escape us. Little suggestions of stories can be embedded in an unassuming row of brush-stroked shophouses.

Asher’s pieces are also rather mature in execution. He bravely explores advanced techniques beyond his tender age, like impressionistic work with a pallette knife, and visually impactful underpainting method for scenery and portraits. He’s is one of our many young, emerging artists to look out for.

Kaylan Lim Jolie

Jolie’s characters have a mischievous, but joyful streak in them. We can only suspect is her own way of celebrating how happy she has been since joining ADP. With a marker or fine pen, she draws very quickly and intuitively. Her illustrations of birds, cats, frogs and lizard characters are so quirky, they put a smile on your face.

Jolie’s “Secret Garden” has inspired renowned artist, Ernest Zacharevic, to create a stunning mural on the facade of The Art Faculty at Enabling Village. Jolie is also part of The Animal Project’s artist collective.

Jonathan Cai

Jonathan indulges in detailed still life and architectural line-art. From capturing the minute typographic branding on a pencil, to monumental towers of glass and steel, he takes them on with gumption.

One of our young, emerging artists, Jonathan harnesses the power of repetition to drive his point across his art too. Take for example, his detailed drawing of countless smart phones repeated and composed in a heavy heap – it was a cheeky message to his mum: May I have a new mobile phone please?

Joshua Lim

The creatures in Joshua’s mind are fantastical and innovative. He has a fascinating way of melding the bodies of animals, monsters and robots to create works of art that are visually dramatic and graphic. They are not terrifying, thanks to Joshua’s inclination for bright and vibrant colours.

Joshua’s larger pieces are most impressive – something you can probably expect to find in the modern pages of a home décor publication.

Jimenez Marzel Grace Eguia

Marzel might appear reserved and soft-spoken, but her illustrations of heroines are anything but. From manga characters to nature, Marzel’s attention to detail and strong narrative is compelling.

Marzel is also a fan of the Steampunk movement, often illustrating classic stories, like King Arthur, in that distinct style of costuming and weaponry. Marzel also welds a powerful weapon for illustrating – her prized drawing tool – a digital pen and tablet. We know her drawing pen will always be mightier than any sword!

Rachel Fong

Rachel enjoys Japanese manga culture, as well as the curiosity and beauty of all things goth. She loves to doodle and paint characters and portraits.

About Us

Pathlight School is the first autism-focused school in Singapore that offers Singapore's mainstream academic curriculum together with life readiness skills. It caters to students with autism and related disorders, aged 7 to 18 years, who are cognitively able to access mainstream academic curriculum but require additional support such as smaller class sizes, special accommodations and teaching staff trained in autism.